Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

The Church Did Not Begin at Pentecost

Posted on by under church, Holy Spirit, Pentecost

Today marks the church’s celebration-remembrance of Pentecost. This isn’t a day privy to only certain portions of the church. It is one to be celebrated by all Christians.

There are a few different angles one could take in remembering the importance of Pentecost. The angle of the pouring out of God’s Spirit on all flesh – male/female, young/old, Jew/Gentile. There is the aspect of the empowering of God’s people for mission that the rule and grace of Christ be made known to all peoples. Then there’s the common notion that the church began on that great day of Pentecost.

But did the church begin on that remarkable day long ago?

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Mission & the Spirit: Why All God’s Gifts Are Still Needed Today

Posted on by under continuationism, gifts of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, mission, spiritual gifts

This semester I have been recording videos for the Missional Life class I teach at Visible Music College. In particular, I’ve been doing some videos around the topic of Mission and the Spirit.

When it comes to mission in the west, we usually get caught up in talking about all the ways to be culturally relevant. And I don’t mind that. I look at that angle as well. But empowered mission begins with the work of the Spirit in the people of God.

Below is my latest video on why I believe all of God’s gifts are needed today for us to accomplish God’s mission, including such gifts as prophecy, healings, miracles and tongues.
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Logos and Rhema Word: I Don’t Believe the Dichotomy Is There

Posted on by under charismatic, continuationism, gifts of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, prophecy, spiritual gifts

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I am a charismatic, or a continuationist, as that is the more proper theological term of today. I’ve spent plenty of time writing about the Spirit’s role and gifts here at the blog.

I want to also be willing to critique some of the stuff that exists out there in the name of continuationist-charismatic theology. And there is a good bit out there that needs to be sharpened, to be redirected. And there is also stuff out there that is just outright heinous. Continue reading →

No, Your Body Is Not a Temple of the Holy Spirit

Posted on by under 1 Corinthians, Holy Spirit, temple

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I recently wrote a post about how one of the most quoted Bible verses, Jeremiah 29:11, is regularly misapplied by Christians. The main point of my article is that we misapply this passage – and many passages of Scripture – because we approach it with an individualistic lens rather than an ancient, collective lens. The former is more in tune with a modern, western perspective; the latter is more in line with the Bible.

One detail that helped me to see this more collective perspective within Scripture is by realizing that, 9 out 10 times, the word you in the Bible is plural, not singular. We just don’t easily catch this in our English translations.

And this is why I would make the case found in the title of this post: “No, Your Body Is Not a Temple of the Holy Spirit.” Continue reading →